1. FIREWATCH
A HOT FIRST OUTING FOR CAMPO SANTO BY ADAM FLYNN
The year is 1989andyou(Henry),have started a new jobforthe summer out in the Wyoming
wilderness. Aftera brief but eye openingintroductionto Henry’s devastating backstoryyou arrive in the
beautiful new home for the summer, Fromhere you set outon a mysterious new single player
adventure.
Fromthe start youcansee that the game is heavily story driven, whichin the currentera of gunheavy
shoot‘em upsit’s a nice and welcomechange ofpace. The only communicationyouhave in the game is
with yoursupervisorthe ever sarcastic Delilah, as the summer progressesa bondis created between
youboth as youshare in a mysterious adventure.
The audio workfor this game is remarkable, the soundtrackjustfits with the game andthe
circumstancethat youfind yourselfin. The soundeffects in Firewatchare maybe some ofthe best that I
have ever heard, the soundof the leaves rustingas yougraze a branchwhile walking, the wind as it
howlsthroughthe trees andcaves, and the wildlife that surroundsyou.Itshowsreal skill to get
everything so right whenit comes soundas this canmake or break a game. Youwantthe soundto add
to the enthrallment of the game and notdistract from it, this is a fine example of how the audio works
harmoniously withthe visuals to totally immerse youin the game play and the worldin whichyou are
exploring.

2. The controlsare easy to grasp,there are few of them. Youget a brief introductionto the controlsand
this is all you need, Itis donein a waythat it doesn’t appear to be a tutorial as you hike towards your
watchtower.
Youcommunicatewith Delilah using a Walkie Talkie that youpick upin your lookouttower. Asyoutalk
youhave different options forhow you reply whichcanhave different effectson the direction and the
tone ofthe conversation. As the summer moves along the conversationbetween the 2 characters
reveals more aboutDelilah andwhy she is a lookout.
The world aroundyouis a charming cartoonishwilderness that you canstare out into forhours,it is so
beautiful, and withthe PS4Share youmay find yourself spamming social media every 5 minutes with a
new photo ofthe stunningsunset over the trees or fromthe valley youjusttrekked through. The world
isn’t the photo realistic enviroments that are becoming a main stay ofgames but I think the quirkiness
ofthe graphicsjustadds tothe games overall charmand appeal.
Asthe summer progresses the story unfoldsand you slowly piece together the puzzlethat has you and
Delilah biting yourfingernails with trepidation. The onlysourceof navigation throughthe worldis a
small hand-held map and a compass,this means that you may end uptaking a little detour on your way
from A to Bas there are no waypoints onthe map. But that being said you won’tmind in the slightest,
referring backto my earlier point,this place is so damn pretty. Scattered throughoutthewilderness are
little cacheswhichyoucanuse to update yourmap to help younavigate, andalso in those cachesyou
find little objectsleft byprevious rangers hadobviously become friends.
Personally I couldn’thelp butfeel the same emotions that Henry andDelilah felt the game has a wayof
drawingyou andnot letting yougo, andwith the addition of yourownpet turtle that youget to name

3. with an adequately awfulyet amazing pun,youwill justfall in love withFirewatch,(I called mine Turt
Reynolds).
Campo Santo’s first outingis a beautiful, story driven workof art andit’s easy to see whywhenyou
realise that the brains behind Firewatchare some ofthe people that workedon the Tell-tale series The
Walking dead.
One thingthat is disappointing aboutFirewatchis that it is a bit shortbut that being said you will be left
with the urgeto play it over andover again because 1,the storyhas you grippedfrom start to finish, 2,I
can’t say this enough,it is stunningly beautiful. 3,you have a pet turtle (if youfind him) 4, youhave
multiple different responses between youand Delilah.
Anotherissue that canbe foundwiththe PS4edition is that there is a frame rate issue. That was meant
to be rectified with updates butit hasn’thappened but it’s not a major issue andit does notdetract
from the game in anyway shape orform.
Rating 9/10
Overall this game is a mustplay, it ticks all the right boxeswhen it comes to a storydriven game, you
won’tregret yourtime spent runningaroundthe bear infested wild. The shortness ofthis game is a
letdown butthat is offset by the replay ability ofFirewatchonceyou’ve finished it you’ll wantto start it
all again.